OSU Buckeyes

Belle Vernon (Pa.) Area offensive lineman Dorian Johnson committed to Pittsburgh on Sunday, and that verbal pledge is solid.

Johnson committed to Pitt over Ohio State, but the No. 2 tackle nationally and No. 22 player in the ESPN 150 had two visits planned to Ohio State over the next three weekends.

He says those visits have been canceled.

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Paul Chryst landed his biggest commitment since becoming the coach at Pittsburgh.

Belle Vernon (Pa.) Area's Dorian Johnson, an ESPN 150 prospect and the No. 2 offensive tackle nationally, committed to Pitt while on his official visit this weekend, his coach, Aaron Krepps, told ESPN.com in a text message.

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Fans and foes alike will know what Ohio State’s 2013 recruiting class looks like in three months.

While the remaining names aren’t foreign to those following closely, BuckeyeNation crunched the numbers and came up with possibly six spots remaining to round things out.

There are ESPN 150 and ESPN 300 athletes strewn throughout the list. If Ohio State is looking to move up in the class rankings, it will need to sign a majority of them. That will leave a few good athletes on the outside looking in.

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When a coach like Urban Meyer comes into town with two national championships and a pedigree for landing the elite athletes in the country, it’s not hard for recruits to get excited.

When he’s got that program churning into the bye week undefeated, that interest heightens. But when said coach flips a commit on national signing day and then gives the go-ahead for ESPNU to go behind the scenes for a show called ESPN All-Access: Ohio State Training Days it’s even harder to ignore what’s happening in Columbus.

Offensive tackles such as Jimmy Byrne (Cleveland/St. Ignatius) always liked the Buckeyes, but now the ESPN Watch List junior has them in his top two.

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One of the top remaining targets for Ohio State and Pittsburgh has set official visits to both schools.

ESPN 150 offensive tackle Dorian Johnson (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) will officially visit Pitt the weekend of Nov. 16. His official visit to Ohio State will take place the weekend of Dec. 7, he told ESPN.com in a text message.

Johnson has Pitt as his top school with Ohio State close behind.

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The way Ohio State coaches see it, Dorian Johnson is still sitting out there.

Ditto for Vonn Bell, Mike Mitchell, David Dawson and Corn Elder.

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The season ended prematurely for Dorian Johnson, as Belle Vernon (Pa.) Area suffered a heartbreaking loss to Central Valley in the playoffs on a wobbly field goal with seven seconds left in the game.

Although Johnson was hoping to register his first playoff win in four tries, he was pleased to make the playoffs after Belle Vernon started 1-4.

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One ESPN Watch List tight end will wait until the Michigan game to see Ohio State play, while another is taking in this weekend’s contest against Illinois.

Ethan Wolf (Minster, Ohio/Minster) plans to see the Buckeyes play the Wolverines on Nov. 24, but Jeb Blazevich (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian) is slated to see Ohio State take on the Illini.

That Blazevich should be here this weekend is a big deal, as he already has 19 Division I offers on his plate. The list includes Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech.

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Ohio State will get a second chance to wow the No. 2 offensive tackle in the nation.

And if that impression is anything like the first, Buckeyes fans can expect Dorian Johnson (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) to be floored. Johnson confirmed he will be visiting Ohio State for the Michigan game on Nov. 24.

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Offensive tackle Dorian Johnson (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) liked his experience at Ohio State so much, the ESPN 150 recruit would like to make another trip to The Horseshoe in a few weeks.

In town Saturday for the Buckeyes’ 63-38 win over Nebraska, Johnson -- who is ranked second in the nation at his position and No. 27 overall -- has already started talking about coming back on Nov. 24 for the Michigan game. The 6-foot-6, 285-pound Johnson isn’t sure whether or not it will be an official visit, but he knows he wants to see the campus again.

“I actually talked to the coaches the other day about coming up for it,” Johnson said. “Me and my family are going to try and come up for that game.”

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Saturday’s home game against Nebraska isn’t just a chance to impress the pollsters as much as it is an opportunity to grab the attention of some of the biggest recruits for Ohio State.

The list for the primetime game against the Cornhuskers reads like a who’s who of candidates for the Buckeyes starting with former Penn State commit Dorian Johnson (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon). No. 27 in the ESPN 150, the second-ranked offensive tackle leads the list of headliners planning to attend and is followed by James Quick (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) at wide receiver.

Both have Ohio State in their top three. Johnson rounds out his list with Pitt and Virginia Tech, while Quick (No. 57) comes in with Louisville and Oregon.

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With Tyquan Lewis (Tarboro, N.C./Tarboro) committing to Ohio State on Thursday, there are four -- maybe five -- spots left in the 2013 recruiting class. Here’s a look at five recruits very much in the crosshairs for Ohio State:

1. WR Shelton Gibson (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights): It is clear Gibson wants the Buckeyes as he’s planning to make the second of three unofficial visits this week with his official coming Nov. 24 for the Michigan game.
Gut feeling: Gibson should be a Buckeye soon.

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Dorian Johnson (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) had a top three after giving his decommitment to Penn State a month ago.

Now, the 27th-ranked player in the ESPN 150 has a temporary order for those top three.

“Pitt is No. 1, Ohio State is No. 2 and Virginia Tech is No. 3,” said Johnson before his American Family Insurance Selection Tour presentation for the Under Armour All-America Game on Friday.

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Call the Ohio State-Cal game the weekend of the wide receivers in term of unofficial visits.

Thaddeus Snodgrass (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) is hoping the third time is the charm as he was derailed the two previous weeks in terms of unofficial visits.

He has got company, however, as Dominique Booth (Indianapolis/Pike) and Zach Yousey (Columbus, Ohio/Harvest Preparatory) have plans to find their way to The Horseshoe.

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